Coffee Beginnings
Like many of you, coffee is a drink I enjoy each and every day. It’s my go to in the morning to get me going, and my magic elixir in the afternoon to help my creative juices flow. I would love to thank the individual who created this awesome beverage, but I don’t know how I would thank goats.
No, that’s not a typo- it says GOATS!
While the exact story of when or who discovered coffee is unknown, there is a widely circulated mythical story that credits the discovery of coffee to goats. According to this legend, Kaldi, a goat herder in Ethiopia many centuries ago, was tending to his herd of goats. He noticed his herd eating the fruit of a tree and that upon eating the cherries the goats became animated. They were jumping around and appearing to almost dance on their hind legs. Curious about the source of his herds’ strange behavior, Kaldi decided to try the fruit himself. After eating a coffee cherry Kaldi felt energized! The story says Kaldi was so excited about this new fruit that he took the coffee cherries to the local monastery.
However, the monks at the monastery were not as excited about the coffee as Kaldi. The monks thought that the cherries were from the Devil, and as a result they threw the coffee cherries into a burning fire. . Instead of destroying the cherries, the fire actually roasted them - thus creating the first coffee beans!
Whether this legend is true or not, it’s a fun story to share and chances are you’ll never look at goats the same way again!
For more information about the beginnings of coffee visit National Coffee Association website or http://coffeetea.about.com/od/advancedcoffee/a/The-Origin-Of-Coffee.htm.